Imtiaz Alam, who is the secretary general of South Asian Free MediaAssociation (SAFMA), said he was travelling to his house in Doctor’sColony at about 11pm when four men attacked his car with batons. Alamwas injured when a shattered window glass struck his arm.

After battering the vehicle for several minutes, the bearded men clad inshalwar kamiz fled on their motorcycles. Alam said the men were agedbetween 25 and 30.

His wife, Dr Nusrat Habib, told Daily Timesshe heard the men thrashing the car – not too far away from the house.She said she saw the men as they fled.

Alam said he received a telephone call from a cell phone (0323 4580562) about 45 minutes laterthat warned him of ‘dire consequences’ if he told anyone about theattack.

A local resident said the six men had been hiding in thestreet waiting for the car to approach. Four of them attacked thevehicle and two looked on, he said.

Shadman Station House Officer Hamad Akhtar said an FIR had been registered and a probe would begin soon.

The veteran journalist said the ‘cowardly act’ was meant to stop him fromspeaking out against terrorism, but vowed to continue to raise hisvoice.

Daily Times Editor-in-Chief Najam Sethi said this was anact of terrorism and an attack on independent media. He urged thedemocratic government to take the attack on Alam seriously.